I am happy to inform residents that as of this week the Kanata Academy’s new location on 180 Huntmar is now official open!

In the summer of last year, I was honoured to participate in the official sod/gravel turning for the new home. The private school had previously been situated in the Beaverbrook Mall located in Kanata-South.

Principal Shannon Rattray along with her husband and partner Dr. Kevin Rattray purchased the school in 2011. With their student demands and population increasing, the school was quickly outgrowing its location and needed to find a new home.

The Academy follows curriculum as set out by the Ministry of Education and the new facility includes the addition of high school grades to the originally existing pre-school to grade eight programs. They are currently accepting high school enrollment for February 2017.

I would like to thank all residents who participated in this year’s Annual OC Transpo/Loblaws Christmas Food Drive.

A total of 108,496 non-perishable items were collected across the City of Ottawa with almost 10,000 items raised by the Stittsville Food Bank. Stittsville also contributed almost $1,800 to the fundraiser, bringing the City’s grand total to $32,315 in cash and food vouchers for local food banks.

I would like to thank OC Transpo, Loblaws staff, the volunteers who helped with the fundraiser and the community their unwavering generosity. It is thanks to residents and their support for Ottawa Food Bank initiatives that this great program is able to continue to help the hungry in our City who need it most.

I had a lot of fun working in the bus helping to collect items with the volunteers over the weekend and look forward to next year’s event.

Remember that tax receipts are issued by the Food Bank for residents who donate $15 or more. If you missed the event, the Stittsville Food Bank is still gearing up to spread Christmas Cheer with their annual Christmas Hampers. If you would like to help them bring the Christmas spirit to those who need a helping hand, here are some of the ways you can donate this year.

Food Donations can be made in a few different ways:

Choose an ornament off of the holiday food tree located at Brown’s Your Independent Grocers. These ornaments allow you to donate perishable and non-perishables easily as you just pay for it with your regular groceries.

Small non-perishable donations can be donated with the drop-off bins at the following locations:

For gifts for the children, please visit an Angel Tree located at Holy Spirit Catholic Church and St. Thomas Anglican Church to choose a child, or you can drop off a gift card to the Food Bank on Monday’s between 3-5pm or by appointment.

Monetary donations are always helpful as well. The Stittsville Food Bank uses these donations for purchasing items not donated through other means so that each family receives everything they need for a wonderful Christmas. If you are interested in making a monetary donation, you can do so by mail or in person by appointment. The address for mailed donations is: Stittsville Food Bank, PO Box 878, Stittsville, ON K2S 1B1. Appointments for donations can be made by either calling 613-831-0451 or emailing stittsvillefoodbank@gmail.com.

If you are an Ottawa resident who requires assistance removing snow this winter due to physical limitations, I am happy to let you know about the Snow Go program by the City of Ottawa.

There are two departments to the program: Snow Go or Snow Go Assist. The Snow Go program links matching service for seniors and people suffering from disability who are looking to hire and pay contractors for snow removal from private driveways and walkways.

Alternatively, the Snow Go Assist program works to provide financial assistance to eligible low-income seniors or persons with disabilities, reimbursing up to 50% for snow clearing events to a maximum of $250 seasonally.

This is an outstanding program which helps to service our residents who need it most at what can, for some, be a very depressing time of year. The program is supported by different departments across the City. To inquire about application within Stittsville, please contact the Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre at telephone by 613-591-3686 (extension: 313) or by emailing Dee Machum at machum@wocrc.ca.

Each winter, I watch with pride as Stittsville residents come together to support one another – not for payment or recognition but out of the kindness of their hearts. This winter, if you see someone helping out someone in need (either elderly or with disability), nominate them as a Snow Angel by sending their story to communitypride@ottawa.ca. Snow Angels receive a signed certificate from the mayor in honour of their kindness along with a commemorative Ottawa keychain.

I encourage all residents to take notice of kindness this Christmas and also share their stories with my office at Shad.Qadri@ottawa.ca. Throughout the holiday season, I will be happy to thank our neighbours in my electronic newsletter to keep the holiday spirit in motion.

On Saturday, December 3rd, residents are invited to join participating Loblaws, Superstore, or Your Independent Grocer locations and donate to the year’s largest and longest-running food drive in support of the Ottawa Food Bank: The Annual OC Transpo/Loblaws Christmas Food Drive.

This yearly tradition helps to put food on the table for many of the City’s most vulnerable this Christmas season.

New this year is the OC Transpo Virtual Food Drive. Shop from a virtual grocery store and make your donations from the comfort of your home. For every $1 you give through this method, the Ottawa Food Bank is able to purchase about $5 worth of food!

You can visit the Virtual Drive by clicking here. The tool will be available from now until December 31st.

I encourage all residents to visit and share the tool with others on Facebook and Twitter. The more the message is shared, the more successful this year’s food drive will be! Thank you for helping to make a difference.

On Thursday, I was pleased to stop by and welcome the new Stittsville Medical Imaging Centre to the community. The branch can be found at 1609 Stittsville Main St and I encourage residents to consider their services which include X-rays and ultrasound exams, including prenatal 3D ultrasounds.

Last year I connected with the business’ new owners and asked for Stittsville’s thoughts on such a service which was received with an overwhelmingly positive response.

This is a valuable new addition to Stittsville as many residents certainly look forward to the added convenience of medical facilities within our area.

The Stittsville Lions Club is another great organization offered to residents. The Lions are active members of the Stittsville community for over the last fifty years (over a hundred years in the Ottawa West community) with a knack for contributing to local charities and organizations.

This year alone, they’ve participated alongside my office selling daffodils for the Canadian Cancer Association, participating in the Big Bike Ride for Heart and Stroke, and have contributed with countless other measures such as the Case for the Cure and their 68th annual Effective Speaking Competition.

Their hall can be rented for a fee for receptions, birthdays, or weddings, (etc) with proceeds going to support other community programs sponsored by the Lions.

The Board of Directors meet once a month with all members invited to join twice a month for dinner meetings.

I encourage any resident interested in philanthropic and community-supportive events to get involved as they are a fantastic family of activists always ready to lend their support to a worthy cause. For more information, visit their website or contact info@stittsvillelions.com.

The Stittsville Goulbourn Horticultural Society needs your help! They are looking for additional volunteers to help out with various jobs throughout the community.

This Sunday, September 11, you can lend a hand to help weed and clean up the Welcome to Stittsville sign on Hazeldean and Stittsville Main St. No experience is needed! Simply meet the work party at 1 p.m. and don’t forget to bring a favourite garden tool and pair of gloves. Yard waste bags will be provided.

Since this is an iconic piece of Stittsville that is seen by many passing through, I hope that lots of people will be able to make it out. Happy gardening!

As announced in my column on August 12th, a new café has joined Stittsville called Värdera Café. I would like to let all residents know that their official grand opening event will be taking place on September 10th. All coffee sales will be donated to the C.H.E.O foundation. Värdera would like to welcome any volunteers that would be interested in helping give back to the community in any way, from face painting for children to musicians. To inquire, please call at (613) 435-5532. The café is located in the Jackson Trails Centre at 6081 Hazeldean Rd. I hope that everyone has a chance to make it out to the opening and enjoy a 100% organic, fair trade, and locally roasted beverage or even some pastries, soups, salads, and all day brunch. Welcome to Stittsville, Värdera!